Silent electric signal for banks



(3.. w. LANCASTER. I SILENT ELECTRIC SIGNAL FOB BANKS.

APPLICATION FILED. vNOV. 23 [91 6. 7 1,401,087. Patented Dec. 20, 1921.

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G. W. LANCASTER. SILENT ELECTRIC SIGNAL FOR BANKS.

APPLICATION mm NOV. 23. we. Patented Dec. 1921.

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GEORGE W. LANCASTER, OF RICHMIOND, VIRGENIA, ASSIGNOB, TO TELLER PRO- TECTOR COMPANY, INCL, OF BEGHIKOND, VIBJGINEA, A CORPORATION OF DELA- WARE.

SILENT ELECTRIC SIGNAL FOR BANKS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 20, 1921.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, GEORGE W. Lancasrnn, a citizen of the United States, residin at Richmond, in the county of Henrico and 'tate ofVirginia, have invented certain new and useful improvements in Silent Electric Signals for Banks; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, ,clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

The invention relates to a silent electric signal for banks.

The object of the present invention is to provide a simple, practical and eliicient silent electric signal for banks designed for use of paying tellers or a similar ollicial and the bookkeeper or other accountant and adapted to enable the paying teller to transmit to the bookkeeper the name of the 'depositor without leaving the cage and capable also of providing means for enabling the bookkeeper to indicate to the paying teller the amount of the balance of the depositor without the depositor having any knowledge of the operation of the signal whereby the safety oi? financial institutions will be materially increased without subjecting a dcpositor to humiliation or annoyance caused by the paying teller or similar oilicial leaving his cage or position at the window to look up an account.

A further'object oi'the invention is to provide a silent signal of this character adapted to enable various other information to be transmitted from one portion of the institution to another for notifying the bank employee of the presence of a burglar or the like.

With these and other objects in view, the invention consists in the construction and novel combination of parts hereinafter fully described, illustrated in the accompanying drawings, and pointed out in the claims hereto appended; it being understood that various changes in the form, proportion, size and minor details of construction, with- I in the scope oi the claims, may be resorted to without departing from the spirit or sacrificing any of the advantages of the invention.

In the drawings- Figure l is a vertical sectional view of an instrument designed for the use of a paying arrangement of the keys :tor signaling the paying teller.

Fig. 6 is a diagrammatic view illustrating the arrangement of the circuit controlled by the keys of the paying teller.

Fig. 7 is a similar diagrammatic view illustrating the arrangement of the circuit controlled by the keys oi the bookkeeper.

Like numerals of reference designate corresponding parts in the several figures of the drawings.

in the accompanying drawings in which is illustrated the preferred embodiment of the invention, 1 designates a paying tellers instrument designed to-be installed within the cage of a paying teller or other official of a bank or similar financial institution or the like, and comprising a support provided" with a vertical back 2 and a horizontal base 3. The back .2 supports a series of lamps l which are connected with and adapted to be caused to glow by a bookkeepers instrument 5. The lamps 4 which are ordinary electric lamps are preferably arranged in transparent or semi-transparent shells 6 bearing suitable characters 7 which as illustrated in Fig. 2 of the drawings consist of the numerals O to 9, a dollar sign, a period or decimal point and a colored signal 8. Any number of the color signals may be of course emoloyed for transmitting various information.

The base of the paying tellers instrument 1, is equipped with a set of movable contacts 9 and fixed contacts 10 arranged in the path of the movable contacts and adapted to coact therewith for closing a signal circuit and lighting a lamp corresponding to the contact 9 operated. T he movable contact 9 is preferably in the form of a key pivoted at 11 and provided with a suitable head 12 hearing a character such as a letter. When the head 12 1s pressed upon by the linger,v

the movable contact 9 will be carried into engagement with the relatively fixed contacts l and the'circuit will be closed as will be readily understood.

The bookkeepers instrument comprises a support consisting of a horizontal base 13' and a vertical back 1%. The supports of the paying tellers instrument and the bookkeepers instrument mayof course be of any other desired form but the form shown is aconvenient form and will conceal the sigrials suflici'ently for the purpose intended.

The back 14- of the boolrl eepers instrument is equipped with a series of lamps 15 whichzare covered by transparent shells 16 constructed similar to the shells heretofore described and provided with letters 17 or other characters and certain of the shells are colored to form signals 18 but the signals may be distinguished in any other manner from the characters of the back 14: of the bookkeepers instrument. Hlhe. characters and the signals oi the bookkeepers instrumentcorre'spond with the characters of the movable contacts 9 of the base or the paying tellers instrument and when any one of the characters oi theflpaying tellers in-v strument is depressed for closing the circuit between it and the booklreepcrs instrument the corresponding lamp ot-the bookkeep'ers instrument will be causedto glow and it will be clear that the paying teller may quickly spell the name of any deposit-or and the signals, formedby the colored shells will enable the bookkeeper and cashier to indicate the presence of each other so that the cashier or paying teller or other oflicial will not attempt to spell the name of a depositor or other person until the presence of the bookkeeper is assured. lhe'base of the bookkeepers instrument is equipped with movable contacts '19 pivoted 20 and arranged above to cooperate with relatively fixed contacts 21. The movable contacts of the booklreepers instrument are. provided with heads 22 hearing figures 23 or other characters such as a dollar sign, period and color signals and when one of the movable contacts of the boolrlreepers instrument is depressed, the corresponding lamps of the paying tellers instrument will be c used to glow and theamount of a depositors bal ance or the like maybe readily and instantly transmitted to the paying teller or other bank oihcialwithout the customer or depositor becoming aware that the paying teller has consulted the bookkeeper.

The circuits of the lined and movable contacts of the tellers instrument and the lamps of the booklreepers instrument is arranged as illustrated in Fig. 6 of the accompanying drawings. I

nac os? of the lamps of the bookkeepers instrument and the fixed contacts 10 of the paying tellers instrument are allconnected with a single wire 25'connected with one pole of a battery 26 or other suitable source oi? current supply, other pole of the battery 26 is connected by a wire 27 having branch wires 28 connected with the other terminals of the lamps of the bookkeepers instrument.

iBy this arrangement the circuits will be closed when any one 0]": the movable contacts the poles of a battery 31 which in practice may be the same battery as the battery 26 or a separate source of current supply. The other terminals of the lamps of the paying tellers instrument are connected with branch wires 32 of a wire 33 which is con nected with the otherpoleoi the battery 31. By this construction, the corresponding lamp of the paying tellers instrument will be caused to glow when one of the keys of the bookkeepers instrument is depressed.

While the silent signal 01" the present invention is described with reference to banks and similar financial institutions, it will be apparent that it may beem'ployed wherever a signaling system of this character will be Iound advantageous or desirable.

Thekeys of the circuit closers are prel erably supported in an elevated open'position by coiled springs 34 and 35 but various other circuit closing means may of course be provided and while the devices o1 each instrument are preferably mounted on single support they may be arranged in any other desired manner.

What is claimed is a 1. in a signal system for banks, in combination, a station having a combined transmitter and annunciator comprising a base, a substantia ly vertical opaque upright on said base, circuit closers mounted on the base each having associated therewith one of the letters of the alphabet and signal elements mounted on the upright on the side facing the circuit closers each having associated therewith one of a group of indicia including numerals and characters "to represent an amount of money, a second station having a second annunciator including signal elements each having associated therewith one of the letters 01": the alphabet and a second transmitter comprising a plurality of circuit closers each having associated therewith one of a group of indicia including numerals and characters and electric circuits connecting the circuit closers of the first station with the corresponding signal elements of the second station and the circuit closers of the second station With the corresponding signal elements of the first station respectively.

2. The structure of claim 1 with said signal elements of said first and second stations as lamps, shells disposed over said lamps and having said letters, numerals and characters delineated thereon.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature 15 in presence of two Witnesses.

GEORGE W. LANCASTER. Witnesses:

I. RHODES, H. T. CROUCH. 

